Last weekend, Spokane man Gene Gallagher heard some disturbing news from a friend. She said that her drink had been tampered with during a visit to the Globe Bar & Kitchen in downtown Spokane.
Frustrated at having heard so many reports of drugging, Gallagher posted a sign on a street light near the Globe.
The sign reads, "Women are being drugged at the Globe. This is not okay."
The problem isn't limited to just the Globe, Gallagher says.
"Honestly, I've seen it everywhere. I've heard from friends and friends of friends that it's happened multiple places," Gallagher said.
He says he posted the sign because he feels that drink tampering is an issue not getting nearly enough attention.
"It's got to stop," he said.
Not long after he made the sign, the issue received attention.
"People have come forth, come out of the woodwork. Women who are scared, men that are upset," Gallagher said.
And that included attention from the bar owner himself.
"Anytime anyone says that something happened in the bar, we take every single one of those claims seriously, and we try to investigate each one," said Scott Wilburn, who owns the Globe.
Wilburn says staff quickly went through their extensive security footage but couldn't find evidence of tampering.
Nonetheless, the bar announced a series of policy changes, which Wilburn says were long overdue.
The changes include offering lids for drinks, posting signs with advice on how to protect drinks and offering to remake drinks for free if customers believe tampering has happened.
"We are working with the Spokane Police to find out how big of a problem it is and what we can do to prevent it from happening," Wilburn said.
The police, for their part, say they haven't seen a particular spike in drugging reports. But they say they'd like more people to reach out if they think they've been drugged.
Spokane police have also reiterated the importance of not drinking alone or leaving drinks unattended.
"We really want to have Spokane known for having a fun, vibrant and safe nightlife," said Wilburn.
Wilburn says he's also reached out to fellow bar owners and scheduled meetings for this week, where they will discuss how they might work together to address the greater issue of drink tampering.
